Clutch control



March 13, 1956 w. s. FERGUSON CLUTCH CONTROL Filed July 9, 1954 INTERNALFOR. co'r'rou comausrlon GIN BLOWERS ENGINE CLUTCH INVENTOR W/l. LIAM SIFERGUSON ATTORNEY United States Patent() ,1 cc

CLUTCH CONTROL William S. Ferguson, Monroe, La. Application July 9,1954, Serial No. 442,343 3 Claims- (Cl.- 192-5096) The present inventionrelates to a power shut-off device found particularly useful incombination with cotton gins.

In co-pending application Serial No. 435,148, filed June 8, 1954, byWilliam S. Ferguson and Joseph V. Ferguson II as jointinventors, acotton gin fire extinguishing system is disclosed and claimed. Inthatsystem, it is vital that the blowers of the cotton gin be stoppedwhen the fire extinguishing fluid is. released, and best'timing of sucha-system requires that the releasingand thestopping be simultaneous.

One object of this invention is to provide remote control means forshutting off the power supply of cotton gins at the instant fireextinguishing fluidis released into the gm.

Another object of this invention is to provide means fq sq rol i g a cutch an th i e-t m a r m te point. It is also an object of thisinvention to provide means for positively positioning a pivoted lever orthe like in one position by further means operable from a remote pointwithout interfering with the normal operation of the lever.

A more specific object is the dual provision of (1) simple remotelycontroled means for disengaging the somewhat awkward manually operatedclutch that is commonly used between internal combustion engines andfans of cotton gin blower systems to avoid transmitting the momentum ofthe engine to the fans, and (2) means responsive to the first means andmovable therewith for throttling down the internal combustion engine toprevent it from racing unduly. Other objects of the invention will beobvious from this detailed specification and the attached drawings.

The objects of the invention are obtained by a combination whichincludes a power shut-off device comprising a cockable leaf springhaving one free end and one end fixed on a base, a catch for holding thespring cocked, a remotely controlled release for the catch and meansmovable in response to the position of the free end of the spring forshutting off power.

Preferably, the spring is a heavy, straight leaf spring capable ofmoving about 25 pounds when it is cocked and released. With such a heavyspring it is desirable to have a lever operated cam or the like forpressing the spring to the cocked position.

It is also desirable to mount the spring in a frame with one end rigidlyfixed at about right angles to about the middle of the frame base, withthe other end free to move to and from a cooked position within theframe. The frame can be provided with suitable mounting means forattaching it adjacent the clutch handle of a cotton gin or the like.

To obtain more positive spring power it has been found desirable to usea compound leaf spring having two or more leaves at the point where thespring will be subjected to the greatest distortion.

The means for shutting off power preferably includes an arm slidablymounted in the frame with one end inside 2,738,043 atentedgMar. 13,

the frame operatively associated with the free end of the spring. Theother end should be outside the frame in all positions of the spring andit is preferably provided with an open yoke. This construction permitsthe arm to move a clutch handle when the clutch is to be disengaged andat the same time, leaves the clutch handle free to be engaged anddisengaged by an operator during the normal period when there is noemergency.

The remotely controlled catch may be manually operated, solenoidactuated or otherwise manipulated in accordance with known structuresfor this purpose. However, it has been found particularly desirable touse a manually operated catch which can be tripped by a remotelypositioned pull cord, as this gives the positive operation required foran emergency device. The throttle retarding means preferably include anenclosed cable operatively attached at one end to the free end of thespring.

This invention will be better understood by reference to the attacheddrawing, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an internalcombustion engine driven cotton gin constructed in accordance with thepresent invention;

Fig. 2'is an elevational view. partly in section of the clutch controlshowing the operative relationship of its elements;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view partly in section of one release catchused with the elutchcontrol.

Referring now to that preferred form of the invention shown in Fig. 1,an internal combustion engine is shown driving .fans'fora cotton ginthrough a standard clutch. The t h is n a e 3 .9 di enga ed by a st op.-erating handle indicated at 10 in the drawings. In the full lineposition of the clutch, it is engaged and the engine is driving the ginfans. The dotted line position indicates the disengaged clutch. Athrottle 12 is provided for regulating the speed of the engine in thecustomary manner. A power shut-off device, indicated generally at 14, isfixed adjacent the clutch, with an arm 16 suitably positioned fordisengaging the clutch. An enclosed cable 18 for regulating the throttleand a release cord 20 for actuating the clutch and throttle controls.

Details of the power shut-off device sometimes calied the clutchcontrol, can be better identified in Fig. 2. it includes a frame 22having a base 24 and a cooking lever 26 extends through a slot 28 in thefront of the frame.

It will be seen that a compound leaf spring 36 is mounted in the framewith one end 32 rigidly mounted at right angles to the base 24. Theother end of the spring 34 is free to be moved back and forth Within theframe. A catch indicated generally at 36 (Fig. 3) is positie-ned. in theupper part of the frame with a spring urged catch proper 38 extendinginto the arc of the free end 34 of the spring 30. The catch alsoincludes a pivoted release 45 one end of which carries the pull cord 25)while the other end operates the catch proper. In Fig. 2 it will be seenthat cocking lever 26 is fulcrumed on pivot 42 of the frame and isprovided with a cam 24 for pushing the spring to the dotted line cockedposition. The arm 16 is slidably mounted in the frame 22 by means ofslideway 46 and a hole (not shown) is provided in one end of the arm forreceiving the free end of the spring 34. This construction permits theslidable arm 16 to be moved by the position of the spring without anybinding in a substantially frictionless manner. The other end of arm 16is provided with a yoke 48 which assures engagement of the arm with theclutch handle when the cocked spring is released. Preferably the yoke isrotatable to permit installing the clutch control horizontally orvertically as appears desirable.

The enclosure of enclosed cable 18 is fixed on the frame 22 and thecable is fixed on the end of arm 16 at 50 so that the throttling controlis directly associated with the clutch control and both are operativelyassociated with the free end of the spring.

In operation, the power shut-off device 14 is suitably attached on theclutch housing or adjacent the clutch of a cotton gin or the like withthe slidable arm 16 positioned so that it will disengage the clutch whenthe spring 30 is in the normal or uncooked position. The enclosed cable18 is then attached to the throttle 12 so that disengagement of theclutch by the slidable arm 16 will force the throttle to the idlingposition.

The cocking lever 26 is then moved to cam the spring to the dotted linecocked position. Catch 38 is cammed out of the Way as the spring goespast and then it holds the spring cocked and the cotton gin can beoperated in its normal manner. Pull wire 20 is attached to the controlbox of a fire extinguisher system or the like so that actuation of thefire extinguisher system releases catch 38 and permits spring 30 toreturn to the full line position of Fig. 2 with a force of from about 25to 75 pounds. That force is adequate to move clutch handle to the dottedline disengaged position of Fig. 1. Simultaneously, the wire of enclosedcable 18 is pulled by arm 16 to move the throttle to the idling positionand thereby prevent the motor from racing unduly.

I claim:

1. A power shut-off device comprising a frame including a base, a leafspring having one free end and one end mounted on said base with themounting portion thereof rigidly fixed at about right angles to saidbase, a lever fulcrumed on said frame with a handle end extendingoutside said frame for manual actuation and the other end extendinginside said frame for engagement with said spring to distort it into acooked position on manual actuation, a catch mounted on said frame at apoint near the free end of said spring for engaging the free end thereofand holding said spring in cocked position, a

clutch handle actuating arm extending substantially parallel to saidbase and slidably mounted in said frame, one end of said arm being inoperative engagement with the distortable portion of said spring and theother end of said arm being outside the frame for moving a clutch handleto the disengaged position and means for releasing said catch.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, for use in retracting a throttleand disengaging a clutch associated with a motor, which includes inaddition, throttle retracting means operatively associated with thedistortable portion of said spring, said clutch being operable by saidspring through said clutch handle, whereby in the cocked position ofsaid spring, the clutch may be engaged and the throttle maybe fullyopened and in the normal released position of said spring, the clutch ispositively disengaged and the throttle is retracted to prevent the motorfrom racing unduly.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said release means includesa pull cord operable from a distant point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS773,336 Nystrom Oct. 25, 1904 858,915 Sheppard July 2, 1907 1,311,299Therien July 29, 1919 1,390,854 Abbott et a1. Sept. 13, 1921 1,666,717Northrop Apr. 17, 1928 1,734,037 Kelly Nov. 5, 1929 1,877,427 PenningtonSept. 13, 1932 2,421,050 Bibicofi May 27, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 265,469Germany Oct. 8, 1913

